Chain saw and protective cover therefor



June 20, 1967 C, B. KEPHAT, JR

CHAIN sAw AND PROTECTIVE COVER THEREFOR Filed Jan. 29, 1965 United States Patent 3,326,250 CHAIN SAW AND PROTECTIVE COVER THEREFOR Charles B. Kephart, Jr., 1620 18th St., West Des Moines, Iowa 50265 Filed Jan. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 429,026 4 Claims. (Cl. 143-32) A chain saw when not in use is vulnerable to damage by accidental breakage and dust, dir-t Iand the like which will collect in t-he chain guide groove formed in the peripheral edge of the guide bar.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a chain saw having a cover which may be readily attached and removed Vfrom the cutting chain and the guide bar.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a chain saw having .a protective cover which is formed of resilient material which will provide a cushion for the chain teeth.

Another related object of this invention is to provide a chai-n saw and a cover therefor which is formed of a resilient material whi-ch will sealingly engage the sides of the chain saw guide bar to keep all dust, dirt and the like away from the chain teeth and the guide groove in the guide bar.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a cover for the chain teeth and guide bar of Ia chain saw which may be -cut to any desired length and is provided with means for maintaining 4the cover in sealing engagement with the guide bar along the rounded outer end of the guide bar.

Another related object of this invention is to provide a cover for a chain saw which is adapted to be used on all types of cutting chains and guide bars for chain saws.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a cover for a chain saw which is self-clamping and has teeth elements which are adapted to grip the sides of the chain saw guide bar to hold the cover firmly in place.

Another related object of this invention is to provide a cover for chain saws which has an enlarged opening through which the cut-ting chain and guide bar edge may be inserted when mounting the cover on the chain saw.

A further object of this invention is to provide a chain saw and protective cover therefor which is simple in design, economical to manufacture and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chain saw with a chain teeth and guide bar cover partially mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through the cover alone;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 3 3 in FIG. l showing the cover member mounted on the chain saw;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation view of a modied cover mounted on a cutting chain and guide bar of a chain saw; and

FIG. 5 is yet another side elevation view of a modified chain saw with a cover mounted thereon.

In FIG. l a chain saw is shown having the conventional components which include a guide -bar 12 and an endless chain 14 extending therearound. The chain `14 is received in a guide slot 16 formed in the peripheral edge of the guide bar 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the chain 14 includes cutting teeth 18 and drive links 20 riveted to ice each end thereof. Each of the drive links 20 have tangs 22 formed on their lower edges for movemen-t in the guide slot 16. On opposite Vsides lof the slot 16 are bar rails 24 on which ride the lower edges of the cutter links 18 and tie straps 26. The tie straps 26 interconnect the drive links 20.

The cover for the chain 14 and the guide bar 12 is referred -to generally by the reference numeral 30. As seen in cross-section in FIG. 3, it is formed with a C- shaped portion 32 which embraces and matingly engages the cutter teeth 18. A pair of closely spaced parallel integral leg portions 34 extend from the longitudinal edges of the C-shaped portion 32. A plurality of teeth elements 36 are formed on the inside faces of the leg portions 34 for gripping the guide bar 12. The teeth elements are shown to be pointed in cross-section in FIGS. 2 and 3. The longitudinal outer edges of the legs 34 are provided with outwardly tapering surfaces 38 which define an enlarged opening 40 for guiding the cover 30 onto the chain 14 and the guide bar 12. The cover 30 is molded from resilient flexible material and thereby will yieldably clamp onto the guide bar 12 after it has been forced in-to the opening 40 and between the leg portions 34 to its final position illustrated in FIG. 3 wherein the top sur- :faces of the teeth 18 bear against the inside surface of the C-shaped portion 32.

As seen in FIG. 4, a modified cover 30A is provided which has radial serrations 42 cut in the leg portions 34 in the area of the rounded outer end of the bar 12. This permits the leg portions 34 to maintain sealing engagement with the side surfaces of the bar 12.

In FIG. 5, the cover 14 is shown mounted on a modiied guide bar 12A which has convex longitudinal edges 44 on Iwhich the cover 14 may be readily mounted.

Thus it is seen that the cover 14 may be quickly attached or removed from any shape guide bar on a chain saw Iand that the cover will protect the chain 14 from breakage and all forms of dust, dirt and other abrasive material that would tend to collect on the links and in the slot 16 in the guide bar 12.

Some changes may `be made in the -construction and arrangement of my Chain Saw and Protective Cover Therefor without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, Iand it is my intention to cover Iby my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In combination,

a chain saw having a bar with a slot extending around its peripheral edge, an endless cutting chain extending along said edge and having a portion received in said slot,

an elongated liexible C-shaped in cross-section cover member, a pair of leg portions disposed in closely spaced apart parallel relationship, said leg portions integrally extending from the longitudinal edges of said C-sh-aped member, said leg portions being formed of resilient material and normally biased towards each other,

at least two laterally space longitudinally extending rows of teeth on the inner face of each leg portion, said teeth being pointed land V-shaped in crosssection,

said legs having outer parallel surfaces parallel to the outer surfaces of said bar,

said cover member being disposed over said cutting chain and guide bar with said two rrows of teeth on each of said leg portions yieldably engaging the sides of said cutting bar, said cutting chain being in engagement with the inside surface of said C-shaped resilient cover member thereby providing a. cushion for said teeth.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the outer longitudinal edge of each of said legs is formed by a laterally inwardly tapering side edge which terminates at the vertex line of the outermost longitudinally extending row of teeth, said tapering side edge terminates outwardly at the bottom side surface of said leg thereby forming a sharp longitudinally extending outer edge on said leg, and said pair of tapering side edges defining a guide for mounting said cover member on said bar.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein each of said teeth elements on said leg portions and said cover member are substantially co-extensive in length.

edges whereby said leg portions Will lie at against said bar throughout the length of lthe curved end of said bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 871950 Frechtmann 145-35 4/1964 Tyrrel 143-32 DONALD R. SCHRAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A CHAIN SAW HAVING A BAR WITH A SLOT EXTENDING AROUND ITS PERIPHERAL EDGE, AN ENDLESS CUTTING CHAIN EXTENDING ALONG SAID EDGE AND HAVING A PORTION RECEIVED IN SAID SLOT, AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLE C-SHAPED IN CROSS-SECTION COVER MEMBER, A PAIR OF LEG PORTIONS DISPOSED IN CLOSELY SPACED APART PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP, SAID LEG PORTIONS INTEGRALLY EXTENDING FROM THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID C-SHAPED MEMBER, SAID LEG PORTIONS BEING FORMED OF RESILIENT MATERIAL AND NORMALLY BIASED TOWARDS EACH OTHER, AT LEAST TWO LATERALLY SPACE LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING ROWS OF TEETH ON THE INNER FACE OF EACH LEG PORTION, SAID TEETH BEING POINTED AND V-SHAPED IN CROSSSECTION, SAID LEGS HAVING OUTER PARALLEL SURFACES PARALLEL TO THE OUTER SURFACES OF SAID BAR, SAID COVER MEMBER BEING DISPOSED OVER SAID CUTTING CHAIN AND GUIDE BAR WITH SAID TWO ROWS OF TEETH ON EACH OF SAID LEG PORTIONS YIELDABLY ENGAGING THE SIDES OF SAID CUTTING BAR, SAID CUTTING CHAIN BEING IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INSIDE SURFACE OF SAID C-SHAPED RESILIENT COVER MEMBER THEREBY PROVIDING A CUSHION FOR SAID TEETH. 